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Public safety leaders defend staffing and technology costs as council questions Project Seed, Axon contract and transfers
Summary
New Castle County public-safety leaders told council their FY27 requests protect critical services and morale, citing staffing improvements and specialized units while council members pressed for accountability on Project Seed, the Axon contract and the transfer of the Community Intervention Team to Public Safety.
New Castle County’s public-safety leadership defended increases in the department’s recommended FY27 budget during a lengthy council hearing, stressing that cuts to core services would carry hidden liability and long-term cost consequences.
“Elmer Sating, director of public safety, told council this is a county in which ‘people move here for these taxes because we’re still a bargain’ but warned that running public safety down risks morale and liability. “I openly admit to you that we’re using 69¢ of every tax dollar,” he said, and urged council not to “put a fire sale out on public safety.”
Sating and other leaders described operational changes and transfers that are part of the recommended budget package. Finance officer Carla presented details of the administration division and said the Community Intervention Team (CIT) is moving to…
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